When Your World Shifts

As with most experiences in life, “hards” spread across a wide spectrum. Near one end of the gamut, we stack: Managing a family. Giving up sugar. Working with difficult personalities. But on the opposite end of the spectrum exist hards where things we hold as unshakeable, fall into pieces. Something we lean on, to keep stability in our life, vanishes. Coming from the depths, our world begins to rumble and quake. Things we have depended upon sway, then collapse. Our life doesn’t just change, the landscape heaves, and shifts, leaving us confused and disoriented. Life as we knew it will never be again. A crushed dream. A core relationship broken. A health crisis or accident that decimates the body. The devastating loss of a loved one. Where some hards try and test us, these hards rent our souls.

We all struggle to grasp the aftermath of the recent, violent earthquake annihilating areas of Turkey and Syria. Our minds battle to comprehend the staggering number of deaths, injury, and loss of property. Mile after mile of drone shots try to depict the extent of the devastation. Shaking-head stories emerge, as bodies also emerge from the rubble; some miraculous rescues, others not. All resulting from mere minutes of the earth quaking under their feet. Their world. Literally. Shifted. The photo above and the one below demonstrate this reality. The altered red line on a walking track and the bent rails of a beforehand straight railway bring a “wow” from within us.

Rebuilding, not just their homes and businesses, but their very lives after so much tragedy and loss, taunts insurmountable. Likewise, rebuilding after a massive shaking in our personal lives feels inconceivable. 

How do we carry on after our world shifts? By walking these overlapping, God-filled phases. Each an important part of the process. 

1. Grasp the reality of what happened. In devastating situations, comprehension does not happen overnight. Like the aftermath of a calamitous earthquake, we must wait to see what remains. The dust must clear and the aftershocks cease so we can examine the new landscape. Just accepting the simple fact that “this hard” has happened to us, and leaves a wake of great loss, takes time.

2.  Mourn what is lost. There is no timeframe. There are no rules. Others may not be able to see the dust and smoke still rising from our brokenness. But some days the clouds are so thick we cannot see beyond the immediate. Comfort flows as others come alongside to share our burden. Written words fill shelves offering guidance, compassion, and caution for stumbling blocks along the way. Sharing with others who know a similar loss or experience brings encouragement. But, in the dark night of our journey, a portion of the path we traverse alone. Here, my friend, in the shadowy, unmapped portion of mourning loss, God draws us into a deeper intimacy and understanding of Himself than we’ve ever known.

3. Anchor to the only unshakeable entity in life. God our Father. He does not change. Ever. (Hebrews 13:8) He does not leave us or forsake us. Ever. (Deuteronomy 31:8) 

He saw this hard before we drew breath and, not only sanctioned it, but began to prepare us. Even though shock may block our awareness in the moment, with certainty, His presence fills the heart of the crisis, holding us, speaking words of love over us. And He’s not going anywhere. He will continue on in this journey, always tender-hearted, always healing, always guiding.

Also, we anchor ourselves to His truths and promises revealed in His Word. For when all else falls away, three things remain. Faith in Him brings strength to stand. Hope in His promises give us reason to move forward.  And His love, that never fails, a steady, safe vessel we sail in, toward our future. (1 Corinthians 13:13)

4. Trust Him in the rebuilding process. Life rolls on, indifferent to our readiness. As the debris is bulldozed away, unlike the victims of recent earthquakes, we recognize our Foundation has not been damaged. He has not moved. He remains solid and unshakeable. Upon this Solid Rock we find our legs under us and stand, to begin building anew (Isaiah 26:4). Slowly, under the covering of His grace and mercy. Though everything shifted, He has gone before us and now begins to hand us gift after gift, treasure upon treasure, to rebuild in this new landscape. 

“God is our refuge and strength,
An ever-present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear, though
The earth give way
And the mountains fall into the
Heart of the sea.”
Psalm 46:1-2